Vimpelcom (VIP) Stock Gained on Earnings Beat

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Vimpelcom (VIP) shares closed trading up 4.51% to $5.79 on Wednesday after the company reported its first quarter earnings results before the opening bell today.

Earnings of 11 cents per share were more than five times the 2 cents per share the company earned during the same period last year, topping analysts' estimates of 8 cents per share by 3 cents.

The company reported a 30% decline in sales to $3.52 billion, missing analysts' $3.55 billion consensus expectations for the quarter. The telecom holding company also reported an EBITDA of $1.4 billion, in line with analysts' $1.43 billion estimates.

The company blamed the revenue decline on a 44% drop in Russian services revenue due to a weakening ruble.

TheStreet Ratings team rates VIMPELCOM LTD as a Sell with a ratings score of D. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate VIMPELCOM LTD (VIP) a SELL. This is driven by a number of negative factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its generally high debt management risk, weak operating cash flow and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: